The route to 260+

[Pinin_prestatyn]

Hi,

I’m new to the GTI. My previous car was a lot more powerful and my GTI feels so slow at the moment. It’s totally standard. Can you just check if I’m doing the right thing to get to over 250 horses?

New intake (Ramair?)
PCV delete
3” Downpipe and decat the pre cat
Upgrade Diverter valve
Remap

Anything else to think about?

Thank you!

Matt

[Rigsby]

Yeah that’s it, pcv delete is not necessary though

[Chesto18]

Have you checked the health of the current DV?

Just wondering as it shouldn’t feel slow, unless you’ve come from an R8 or something. But the DV being shot (as they tend to be if never replaced) will cause a massive boost leak.

[pandaman]

Have you checked the health of the current DV?

Just wondering as it shouldn’t feel slow, unless you’ve come from an R8 or something. But the DV being shot (as they tend to be if never replaced) will cause a massive boost leak.

When I replaced my torn DV with a revision D, it was a night and day difference!

[AJP]

Stick with the standard airbox. It's not a real bottleneck unless you're maxing out a k04, and even the 'best' aftermarket intakes come with some heavy compromises - have a read of the VWR intake thread. You'll probably lose some of that k03 response with any cone on a pipe too.

Stick a fresh OEM paper filter in the airbox, and put the money you've saved towards an uprated fuel pump. Loba or APR are the 'pre-built' options, and cost a bit, but you're buying reliability. The cheaper option is buying uprated internals to fit to your existing pump. VIS seem to be popular lately. Clinical installation is critical. Read up on it. An uprated pump gets more fuel in at low to mid revs where it's mechanically impossible with the standard pump. This is a massively underrated mod. Makes a big difference to 'foot down and boost hard' performance.

You don't need to 'uprate' the DV or PCV. Revision G/D and revision R respectively are proven.

Downpipe with decat / sport cat is probably the biggest gain, followed by fuel pump.

As for mapping, do your research but certain names like R-Tech, Revo, Unicorn etc are mentioned frequently for good reason. E-Tuners are making a name for themselves too.

[colesey]

I agree with much of what AJP recommends and, funnily enough, this is where I am at with my car. Revo stage 1 for several years now plus more recently a brand new VIS pump. I also have the ITG upgrade filter and the GFP DV+ for snappier response as well as holding it all in.

These cars are getting on a bit and maintenance is key to achieving full potential. A tankful of BG44k will clean the injectors and fresh iridium plugs will spark things up.  Were I starting from scratch, then the intake clean / remap package from RTech would be at the top of my list. Whilst 300bhp or whatever sounds great, 2-4k rpm is what most of us get to use on the road so may as well make the most of it. This is the natural habitat for the small k03 so why push the power curve outside of its comfort zone?!?

[DavGTI]

What where you driving before for the GTI to feel so slow? I’d pull and inspect that DV.

[Pinin_prestatyn]

Thanks for the replies guys. I’ll use the info wisely. I’d prefer to use the standard airbox and keep the plastic cover in place. I think my first port of call is to check/replace the diverter valve.
Previous car was a Fiat Coupe running around 280BHP.

[Dan_FR]

Standard GTI does feel slow - there's no torque delivery - its just there - smooth across the whole RPM range - boring

A good quality map, be it stage 1 or 2, really wakes the car up and turns it into the car it should have been from the factory

[probedb]

What where you driving before for the GTI to feel so slow? I’d pull and inspect that DV.

If they're anything like me, coming from a 320bhp RX7 was a very noticeable performance drop. I just decided I needed the cash towards a house deposit.

Replacing the DV - mine was completely wrecked - made a difference :)